Cross Country Notebook: Youth no obstacle to making a big impact

Not many freshman boys seem to make significant impacts in high school cross country, but freshman girls are a different story.

The last time New Hampshire hosted the New England meet, in 2008, the top nine finishers included four freshmen from Maine: winner Abby Leonardi of Kennebunk, runner-up Emily Durgin of Bonny Eagle, Abby Mace of Maranacook and Fiona Hendry of Cheverus.

TOP PERFORMERS

BOYS

Yahye Hussein, Deering junior: In only his second season of running cross country, won his second meet of the fall, a four-school 5-kilometer SMAA race in Windham by two seconds, in 17 minutes, 29 seconds.

HONORABLE MENTION

Jack Letellier, Marshwood senior: Won a four-team SMAA meet in Standish by more than half a minute in a 5K time of 16:33.

Bryce Murdick, Falmouth senior: Won a four-school WMC meet in Cumberland by 11 seconds in a 5K time of 17:12 to lead Falmouth to a 20-point victory over runner-up Greely.

Colin Tardiff, Scarborough sophomore: Won a three-school SMAA meet in Scarborough by 16 seconds with a 5K time of 16:47 to lead a Storm sweep of the first nine places.

AREA TOP FIVE

1. Cape Elizabeth

2. Scarborough

3. Falmouth

4. Massabesic

5. Windham

GIRLS

Teresa Murphy, Brunswick senior: After bypassing the Festival of Champions because of the SAT, won the Camden Hills Invitational in 20:07 to lead Dragons to 16-point victory over runner-up host in seven-school meet.

HONORABLE MENTION

Heather Evans, York senior: Won a five-school WMC meet in Kennebunk by more than half a minute in a 2.9-mile time of 18:57.

Kiera Murray, Cheverus senior: Won a four-school SMAA meet in Gorham with a 5K time of 18:28.

Mary Szatkowski, Bonny Eagle senior: Won a four-school SMAA meet in Standish by a full minute with a 5K time of 18:35.

All four are running for Division I college programs, at Oregon (Leonardi), Connecticut (Durgin and Mace) and Syracuse (Hendry).

A quartet that talented may never come along again, but there are a few freshmen sure to make an impact in the upcoming conference, regional and state meets.

One of them is Emma Shedd of Cape Elizabeth.

“Because she was always running with the upperclassmen, it was kind of intimidating to break through that pack and run on her own,” said Coach Amber Cronin, in her second year.

At the Festival of Champions in Belfast the first weekend of the month, Shedd ran not with her older teammates but with fellow ninth-graders.

She finished fourth overall, within a minute of winner Anna Guadalupi of Cony, in a time faster than all but one – junior Rhoen Fiutak – of her Cape Elizabeth teammates.

Shedd’s emergence, coupled with the return from shin splints of junior Eva Brydson, helped the Capers place fourth overall in a meet that had them seeded 15th of 51 schools. Sophomore Sam Feenstra and senior Dana Hatton also finished among Cape’s top five.

“Having (Brydson) back is a big asset,” Cronin said. “She’s a major part of our top seven. We had a little bit of a hole for a while but now it’s filled in.”

At the team’s most recent meet, last week in Kennebunk, Shedd led Fiutak for much of the race before settling in four seconds behind her. All of which bodes well for the Capers as Friday’s Western Maine Conference meet kicks off a four-week period that includes regional, state and possibly New England championships, which are back in New Hampshire again.

“Greely is going to be tough,” Cronin said of the WMC favorite. “It would great to win but the girls are more focused on the bigger meets.”

FALMOUTH IS the defending WMC champion for both boys and girls, but will be competing next weekend for the first time in the Western Class A regionals against SMAA schools.

Jorma Kurry, who shares coaching duties with Danny Paul, said the Festival of Champions provided an interesting snapshot of where teams stand, but not an entirely accurate one, given that many seniors were filling in SAT ovals instead of running at Belfast.

“You can see who’s good but you can’t necessarily rule out somebody just because they didn’t finish near the top,” Kurry said.

THE ALL-CITY MEET involving Portland, Deering, Cheverus and McAuley is scheduled for Friday afternoon at Cheverus, the defending girls’ champion. Deering, led by the Somalia-born duo of Yahye Hussein and Iid Sheikh-Yusef, is the defending boys’ champ.

“It should be a very close meet on the boys’ side,” said Deering Coach Frank Myatt, whose father Gerry is the longtime Deering girls’ coach.

“He’s a great guy to have around and ask some questions of,” said the younger Myatt, 22, a recent graduate of St. Joseph’s College who was mainly a javelin thrower at Cheverus High.

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